Shooting The Breeze
by Dragonsbane1611
Summary: (SH-SN) "Are you sure you want to floo with him" Ron asked, nodding toward his son. "No, but Lotus seems to have become part of your shirt." Immediately, Lotus leaned away from Ron and reached for her father. (Reference to Various Exchanges)


Note: This is part of a series of bursts of Simply Nevilleness (SN). All of my SN is back-story for the epic 'Supposed Happiness' by MoonCroww. If you want to fully understand the whole situation and future events … toddle over and check it out. Thanks. ~Lady Roxyeth, Dragonsbane  
  
  
  
  
  
Shooting The Breeze  
  
Fri-Mon.23-26.Apr.2004  
  
  
  
He sat against the headboard of his bed and twirled a quill absently in his fingers, staring at the inventory list in his lap. A little girl's laughter drew his attention to his daughters playing on the floor beside his bed.  
  
"Well, hello," he smiled, noticing that Lotus had pulled herself to her feet, gripping onto the bed spread. Ivy followed suit and he brought both girls into the bed with him. They crawled onto his lap and Ivy took his quill, tossing it aside while Lotus studied the parchment he had been looking at.  
  
"You, Ivy Holly, remind me more of your mother every day," Neville told her, nuzzling her cheek, causing her to giggle. "And you, Lotus Blossom, need to stop taking after me," he announced, setting the parchment on the bedside table and nuzzling her cheek also.  
  
He heard the familiar sound of his fireplace and looked toward the door to his room.  
  
"Neville?"  
  
Both girls clapped and gurgled at the man's voice.  
  
"Up here!" he called and there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs.  
  
"Aha!" Harry grinned, entering the room, a little girl clinging to his shirt.  
  
Ivy and Lotus crawled toward the new arrival and Neville held his arms out for Harry's daughter.  
  
"There's our Lily," he whispered when the girl hugged him and puckered her lips against his cheek.  
  
"All our little flowerpots," Harry said, lifting Neville's girls into his arms and kissing their foreheads.  
  
Neville snorted, "They're going to hate that you call them that someday."  
  
Harry sat down and laid back with the two curly-haired blondes resting on his chest.  
  
"No matter. They'll still love me. Won't you?" he asked them, lifting his head a little.  
  
They sat up and looked at their father.  
  
He nodded his head and they smiled at Harry, who scoffed, "Oh, you have to ask, do you?"  
  
"Of course they will. You should have seen them when all they heard was your voice. They love Harry."  
  
Neville set Lily down between his legs and she leaned back against him.  
  
"So how is Neville today?" Harry wondered.  
  
"Neville's making it. How's Harry?"  
  
"Harry's thinking Neville needs to go to Ron's for dinner."  
  
"Oh," he laughed.  
  
A few moments passed in silence where they just enjoyed being there with their children.  
  
"How's Ginny?" Neville ventured, feeling somewhat obligated to ask.  
  
Harry took off his glasses, setting them on his chest as he rubbed his eyes and Neville understood that the full and honest answer could take hours to give.  
  
"She's alright, you know. Misses her mum and her best friend, I think."  
  
Looking to his daughters, Neville clenched his jaw and thought to himself, 'I miss her best friend, too.' Ivy picked up Harry's spectacles and peered through the lenses, eliciting a chuckle from her father. Harry took his hands from his eyes and grinned at the little girl.  
  
"They go on like this," he mumbled, putting them on her face.  
  
Neville couldn't help but laugh loudly and Lily and Lotus giggled at the sight of her. Ivy merely blinked with a faraway smile.  
  
A Luna smile, Harry remarked silently, glancing at his old friend who's eyes were glossy, whether from mirth or memories, he didn't know. Smiling sadly, he stated quietly, "It's good to see you laughing again."  
  
Looking at his girls and stroking Lily's soft dark hair he sighed, "I've got two reasons to laugh again, and several others to make me smile."  
  
Harry reached out and patted Neville's leg.  
  
"I'm glad to hear you say that."  
  
The fireplace sounded again and Neville quirked an eyebrow.  
  
"I don't remember being aware that I had guests coming today?"  
  
"Oi, Neville!" a voice boomed from the stairwell.  
  
Without waiting for a response, Ron peered into the bedroom, a beaming little boy on his shoulders.  
  
"Aha!" the red-haired man announced, moving to the opposite side of the bed, placing his son beside Neville, reclining much like Harry, with his legs hanging off the side of the bed, only going the other direction. Lotus crawled to him and splayed out across his chest. "What a reception!"  
  
Ivy made her way toward him and looked down at him.  
  
"What the …" Ron jumped a little at the bespectacled baby, but guffawed when what he was looking at registered in his brain. Ivy flashed her three teeth at him before Harry called her over to him so he could have his glasses back.  
  
"Meshach," Neville greeted and the little boy flung himself upon the man. Ron tilted his head back and winked at his friend.  
  
"You've got yourself a fan, Neville."  
  
"I guess so," he admitted when the child nestled in beside Lily and gripped a fistful of Neville's trouser leg.  
  
Spying his niece with his son, Ron scolded, "Lily Day Potter, I've been here two minutes and you have yet to say hello."  
  
The little girl gawked at him for a moment before crawling to his side. He pointed to a spot on his cheek and she brushed her lips there.  
  
"That's better," he commented, kissing the top of her chubby hand.  
  
"Where's Perse…" Harry started.  
  
"Mab," Ron corrected.  
  
"Where's she?"  
  
"St. Mungo's for a checkup. After that bit of fever last week, they're making sure she's fully recovered."  
  
"Oh, good, I've been worried about her," Neville said quietly. "Fevers at that age can be terrible."  
  
Holding the girl on her feet on his belly, Harry danced Ivy around and said to her, "I remember when you were one sick little baby. Scared us all out of our wits."  
  
Neville shuddered slightly, remembering the dire prognosis given for his little girl.  
  
"What was it that eventually broke the fever?" Ron queried, petting Lotus' blonde, his other arm wrapped around Lily who was leaning against his side.  
  
He hesitated a moment before answering, "Luna's song."  
  
Both men looked at him and he observed Ivy as he confirmed, "Yes. I do believe that the final hours of her fever could have very well been the final hours of her life had Luna not sang to her."  
  
Harry sat the girl on her bottom on the bedspread and rolled to his side, propping his head in his hand.  
  
"Luna did have a special sort of magic about her, didn't she?"  
  
Neville remained silent.  
  
"She was something else, alright. Lovely, she was," Ron agreed.  
  
"Beautiful," Neville breathed. "Through and through. People were so cruel when she was at school, and she took it all and never did anything about it."  
  
"It wasn't right," Ron muttered.  
  
"They got theirs, though, didn't they?" Neville asked, looking at him.  
  
Ron glanced at him and shrugged, "I guess. I don't know what good it did."  
  
"It meant a lot to her," his friend stated. "She couldn't believe that you'd do that. Nor even you, Harry."  
  
"Well, it wasn't right. None of it."  
  
"It's not like you didn't stand up for her, Neville," Ron pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, but no one listens to me. They listened to you two."  
  
"Yeah, Ron, they heard your fists loud and clear," Harry smirked and Neville smiled.  
  
"Things did change after that. Her belongings stayed put more and more. I don't know if I ever properly thanked you, but thanks, all the same."  
  
"Think nothing of it," Ron waved him off. "She deserved to be treated better than that."  
  
"A lot better," Harry affirmed.  
  
Suddenly, Ivy grabbed his forefinger and studied it, smiling and gurgling to the red-haired tot sitting with her father.  
  
Meshach leaned forward and laughed loudly.  
  
All three fathers snorted, not quite sure what to think, but Lily and Lotus, too, began giggling. Ivy dropped Harry's finger and crawled to sit next to Meshach.  
  
Harry frowned, "I am without child."  
  
"I should hope so!" Ron exclaimed, laughing.  
  
"Har, har," Harry rolled his eyes. Lily, moving out her uncle's grasp, beamed at her father, two teeth glistening.  
  
"Hey, baby girl," he whispered, kissing her nose.  
  
Leaning towards his, she rested her head on his chest and he caressed her arm.  
  
"Surely, she's not tired," Ron said.  
  
"Can my daughter and I have moment without it being assumed that she's tired?" Harry demanded playfully.  
  
"Probably not," Neville put in.  
  
Making a face at them both, he put his arm down and bent his head to look at his daughter's face. Ron watched him closely, waiting for his response.  
  
Sighing defeatedly, Harry mumbled, "I'll be damned."  
  
"What? Can't you and your daughter have a moment without her sleeping through it?"  
  
"Come on, Lily, wake up. We're going to Auntie Mione's," Harry nudged her gently.  
  
Her head shot up and she grinned, making her elation known through incoherent syllables.  
  
"Oh, that gets her attention, doesn't it?" Harry remarked, grabbing her up as he sat upright.  
  
"You bet it does," Ron told him matter-of-factly as he, too, sat up, carefully cradling Lotus in his arms. Flashing a wide smile at Neville, he invited, "You coming, old man?"  
  
"I don't know ..."  
  
"I'm taking your girls."  
  
"Yeah, I'm coming," Neville agreed, lifting Meshach and Ivy into his arms and standing. 


End file.
